Russian President Vladimir Putin has kicked off the presidential elections by casting his vote online on the first day of the race, as reported by state media.
In a video released by the Kremlin, Putin can be seen walking to a computer in his office, where he electronically submitted his vote. Following his vote, he was seen smiling and waving at the camera, with a message on the computer screen confirming the successful casting of his ballot.
This marks the first time that online voting has been introduced in the Russian presidential elections, according to reports from Russian media outlets. On the opening day of the elections, over 3.5 million people across Russia opted for online voting, as reported by the e-voting monitoring portal.
By 7:28 pm local time, a total of 3,500,331 online ballots had been issued to voters in 28 regions of Russia, with a reported 73 percent voter turnout on the first day, according to Russian media sources.
The Russian Federal Platform for electronic voting revealed that 4.76 million individuals planned to cast their votes through the federal platform, while residents of Moscow had the option to vote through the city's own platform without needing prior registration for remote voting.
Overseeing the electoral process are more than 180 election experts from 58 countries, who have been invited by the Russian Civic Chamber. The Civic Chamber stated that these experts are independently observing the elections, as per their invitation.
Initially scheduled for March 17, 2024, by the Russian Federation Council, the presidential election dates were later extended to run from March 15 to 17, according to the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC).
Competing against Putin for the presidency are candidates Vladislav Davankov, Leonid Slutsky, and Nikolay Kharitonov. Vladislav Davankov has been nominated by the New People Party, while Putin is running as a self-designated candidate. Leonid Slutsky represents the LDPR party, and Nikolay Kharitonov is from the Communist Party of Russia.
This election marks the first time in Russia's history that the presidential polls will be conducted over three days. According to Ella Pamfilova, Chair of the Russian Central Election Commission, this format has been well-received by the people, providing them with more opportunities to participate in the electoral process.
Additionally, if reelected, Putin's tenure would extend until at least 2030, following constitutional changes in 2020 that could potentially allow him to remain in power until 2036.
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